Signs & Symbols

$26.00

Signs & Symbols

An Illustrated Guide to Their Origins and Meanings

 

 

 

 

2019

Penguin Random House

352 pp

Hardcover

New

In stock

Description

For thousands of years, humans have communicated through a language of signs and symbols. From uniforms to body adornment and corporate logos, symbols are everywhere, and this book is your guide to their secret meanings and history.

The Sun as well as the night sky with its stars and planets has long been used to symbolize supernatural forces. Learn about this and also how humans have used patterns, numbers, clothing, and more to signal authority, kinship, and status. Signs & Symbols decodes over 2000 emblems, explaining the visual language of architecture, heraldry, religion, and death. It answers questions such as why, for example, Christianity is symbolized by a fish, or how the Chinese use the crane bird to signify longevity.

This comprehensive book also explores how certain gemstones or flowers became linked to personal qualities and how the alphabet and national flags came into being.